In early 2000, the police in Nottingham was the first police force in the UK to have armed officers patrol the city. They field 9×19mm Walther P990 pistols and have 9×19mm H&K MP5SF2 semi-automatic carbines for backup in their patrol cars.

Last night several police officers from the Public Order Intelligence Unit, Scotland Yard, mounted an hour+ surveillance and intimidation operation outside of LARC (the London Activist resource Centre) in whitechappel, London.

(+large flash bowl) took tons of pictures of people arriving at LARC or just passing by, inc. local residents.

People noted down a couple of their numbers…

But when it came to the chap with the camera, he said “Unlucky!” when someone looked for his number on his shoulder, and another officer said he was “a civillain photographer employed by the police”. They refused to answer any other questions about him inc. the question of whether he was therefore entitled to wear a police uniform jacket with the word “POLICE” on it, and whether that might constitute impersonating a police officer or not.

So…

essentially the question is – d’you know if this is standard practice? were they telling lies? or is this something they do because of some kind of loophole in the law or something?

Any feedback or explanations you might have would be appreciated, since this is the first time I have heard this line from the police, while others tell me this is a response they get often in these situations.

Yep, sounds like a ‘civilian staff’ man. I see adverts and articles for these jobs from time to time in the British Journal of Photography and Police Review. You need less qualification that I have got. Have applied a couple of times for the giggle, but no, they don’t like my CV.

The job description is basically forensics, ‘scenes of crime’, press office stuff and surveillance in public places. Not the ‘secret squirrel’ stuff that might be dangerous and undercover. That is still done be Detective Constables. Or, in riot situations, there are insurance reasons why that I done by uniformed police in ‘protective clothing’.

You are right to equate ‘surveillance and intimidation operations’ since one does lead to the other, and when done overtly, they know it!

But this is the layout of the law. Free society etc ….. in that it is allowed to take photographs of people in a public place. It is the basis on how :

* they get to photograph people, just in case, without evidence of wrongdoing.

* How the press get to carry on. [within the codes]

* How I [and video type folks] get to photograph them on operations!

The police jacket is a little more problematic though. Generally, when I’ve seen these chaps gadding about at a scene, they have ‘Photographer’ in large white letters [capital, helvetica], over blue background rectangle, on the yellow jacket. Officers tend to have ‘Evidence Gatherer’ as their label.

Not likely to succeed with ‘impersonating a police officer’. Since in the company of police officers. It might be he’d left his ‘proper jacket’ at home, and had borrowed one! Or, that is just how its done in London now.

Anyway, if your into the trouble. I would do one of three things, or all.

* Take the photo or video you’ve got of the gezzer to solicitor on legal aid work, or even citizens advice for a bit of research around it. Then with a view to complaint. As I understand it you don’t have a complaint. It just that I takes a great deal of police time, exchange of papers etc., and sometimes things ‘bubble up’, while investigating the circumstances. See what I mean …

* Make a complaint directly to the police, quoting the numbers you do have for witnesses, and accuse the geezer you about here, of not identify himself after you’ve had ‘dealings’ with him, in the street. As I understand it, police ‘must’ identify themselves if asked to do so. His jacket says he was police … so there is trouble to be had there!

* AND get as many individuals from the event as you can to get £10 together, and apply for the video, photographs and CCTV? Under the Data Protection Act. [done this a few times now, and they hate it!]. Wont help you identify this chap, just winds them up and being on their case.

Oh, the other explanation is that he is a ‘real one’ from the intelligence services and that you really are suspected of some dark deeds. [you may feel honoured to attract such attention].

Hope some of this explains. Do cause time wasting trouble back. Makes all feel better, than just being victims eh?

Personally, I come from a free festivals and travelling background. New Age Travellers etc.

A number of sayings have helped guide my life over time. Like….

Bring what you expect to find?

If no you, who?

If not now, when?

If not here, where?

In sum, this means self-reliance. It means gigs are ALWAYS better, when people attending don’t just attend , but are a main part of the act. It is obvious to all those there, when this magic happens.

This is actually where I came in. 1972 Windsor, Stonehenge etc….. These were my motives then and remain so now.

Of course the authorities have difficulty with a system that means they are not in sole charge, hence all the law and violence since the Beanfield etc……

Over time, I have been involved I raising awareness about the law changes and their implications to us all.

· Public Order Act 1986

· Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

· Noise Act

· Barry Legg MP: Places of Entertainments (Increased Penalty) Act

· Security Services Act

And now all the Acts that have been going through parliament – with the words

“conduct by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose” being a new definition of serious crime!!!

With the new definition of serious crime, that enable the use of some ‘heavier’ police departments to be applied against us. And will be the end of all the RTS and similar gigs.

Shame eh?

Now, in ‘rave mode’, I have spent time with the Velvet Revolution and All Systems gigs, I had written ‘Sound Advice’ and the ‘Right to Party’ – to try and raise these matters in peoples minds.

Well, we have lost each of the matters I’m on about here. Whoever you vote for, the government gets in!

What I am absolutely positive about though, is that people involved in the scene,

DID NOT DO ENOUGH ABOUT ANY OF IT AS IT HAPPENED AND NOW IS STILL GOING ON.

People have to realise that self-interest and their own immediate happiness ( hedonism?), is not enough to make a festival, party rave, traveller site, gathering.

Important, but not enough.

Some folks on reading this will have been too young, to have had any objection to these changes as they have happened over recent years. But many others of you will have been.

The way parties are now organised, between those trying to conform with some pretty onerous conditions, (ie half to 2/3 of a ticket price to ‘self-police’ and pay for your own public order management and drug search.!) and those involved with the ‘free’ end of things but at continued ‘personal’ rather than ‘sheared’ risks.

This division is of course orchestrated by the other side.

This old hippy / raver? Is now of the opinion that folk have now got the party they deserve.

Discuss……..

Love. Tash

Wrote this a while ago now, and it has done the rounds, causing a little controversy 🙂

It is not just ‘parties’ of course, that i’m moaning about here, but festivals at large, and the ‘gathering’ at Stonehenge. Quite disappointed in the way, folks seem to have settled for the scene, as it now is … Ho Humm…..

Have shot a lot of graffiti over the years, not much on my website, but will have to look into this. Anyway, was attracted to this piece. A few examples have just appeared in the Radford area of Nottingham

In 1999 http://www.mcspotlight.org allegedly had their coverage of the J18 International Carnival Against Capital http://www.j18.org protests censored from the awards ceremony, as being unsuitable for the audience (see http://www.ntk.net /1999/07/02 ). Times seem to have changed with Indymedia now getting an award.

This year however the New Statesman mistakenly published the URL of Indymedia UK as http://www.indymedia.org – the address of the global IMC portal – in both their magazine and website, proving their expert grasp of new media. In the same week that the magazine’s awards were being announced Indymedia was being branded as a terrorist organisation by another magazine in Italy.

The presentation of the awards took place on October 1st at a fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference just days after the news that a police minister is taking steps to try and close down Melbourne Indymedia ahead of anti-WTO protests in November. Two Indymedia volunteers accepted the award and used the opportunity to highlight the increasing threats to free press and civil liberties and increasing political repression post September 11.

Detailing some of the attacks on Indymedia from around the world over the last year they wondered whether the support shown for Indymedia by Stephen Timms (E-commerce Minister) who presented the awards, and judges like Bill Edwards, the Director of the government’s e-Communications office, could be counted on if Indymedia UK is attacked by the police or state in the future. Observers said the politicians were very uncomfortable indeed not knowing where to look, and the speech received an enthusiastic response.

After the speech a number of trade union workers pledged their support for Indymedia and many others commended the project.

The occasion was also used to highlight Media Democracy Day on the 18th October and the growing mobilisations for the UN World Summit on Information Society in Geveva, Dec 2003.

Don’t Hate The Media – Be The Media! Reclaim Your Media!

Indymedia UK was Winner of the Advocacy Award, and was commended in the Online Communities Award, see:

Another excellent list of high-quality finalists meant that choosing the 2002 winners was difficult, with very little in terms of quality between the top placings in many categories. Each of the finalists, websites, and especially the winners, deserves a visit if you would like get a taste of what is successful today in new media.

Established more than five years ago, New Media Awards continues to set the standards in new media. NMA 2003 plans to attract more new ideas, solutions and excellence in new media. If you would like to receive news of NMA 2003, please email newmedia@newstatesman.co.uk

Blogroll

An ongoing diary of stuff, allsorts, and things wot happen ......
I am based in Nottingham UK

tash @ riseup.net

Tashs’ Festival, Travellin’ and Environmental
Photographic Archives.

I am a photographer with a special interest to document the lives of travelling
people and those attending Festivals, Stonehenge etc, what the press often describe
as ‘New Age Travellers’.

With my photography, I have tried to say something of the wide variety of people
engaged in ‘Alternatives’, and youths’ many sub-cultures and
to present a more positive view.

I have photographed many free and commercial events and have, in recent years,
extended my work to include dance parties (’rave culture’), gay-rights
events, environmental direct actions, and protest against the Criminal Justice
Act and more recently, issues surrounding the Global Capitalism.

Further, police surveillance has recently become a very important subject for
me!

In recognition of this work, received a ‘Winston’ from Privacy
International, at the 1998 ‘Big Brother’ Awards. The citation reads:
“Alan Lodge is a photographer who has spent more than a decade raising
awareness of front-line police surveillance activities, particularly the endemic
practice of photographing demonstrators and activists”.

I am currently involved with the setting up and administration of Nottinghamshire
Indymedia. An ‘open-publishing’ system which is part of an international
‘alternative media’ network.

“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?'
Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?'
Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?'
But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?'
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right.”
Martin Luther King Jr.

"In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance.
In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce?
The cuckoo clock!!"
Harry Lime [Orsen Wells] The Third Man 1949

"Civilization will not attain to its perfection,
until the last stone from the last church,
falls on the last priest."
Emile Zola

"....I have an important message to deliver to all the cute people all over the world.

If you're out there and you're not cute, maybe you're beautiful, I just want to tell you somethin'- there's more of us ugly mother-fuckers than you are, hey-y, so watch out now..."
Frank Zappa